Property and Roof Guide
The right system for a Victorian terrace is not the right system for a 1980s estate house. These guides cover what changes with property age, construction and roof covering.
By property age
- Pre-1920 homesSolar on Victorian and Edwardian houses: brittle coverings, irregular rafters, ageing electrics and planning sensitivity.
- 1920 to 1965 homesInterwar and early post-war housing: hipped roofs, clay and early concrete tile, central chimneys and modest incoming supplies.
- Post-1965 homesTrussed rafter roofs, concrete interlocking tile and modern electrics — the most straightforward housing stock to work on.
By property type
- Victorian terracesNarrow slate slopes, party walls, rear back-additions and scaffolding through a shared alley — terraced solar on its own terms.
- 1930s semi-detached homesThe classic suburban semi — hipped or gabled roof, party wall stack, bay window and a side elevation that changes everything.
- BungalowsLarge roof area over a small floor plan, low eaves and easy access — with shading and consumption as the real limits.
- New build homesRetrofitting or extending solar on a new build — structural warranty notification, shallow pitches, interrupted roof planes and covenants.
- Listed buildings and conservation areasWhere permitted development rights are reduced or removed, listed building consent is a separate process, and design choices decide the outcome.
- Barn conversionsLarge uninterrupted roof planes, profile sheet or clay tile, long cable runs and rural supplies that shape what is possible.
By roof covering
- Tile roofsConcrete interlocking, clay pantile and plain tile — the most common covering we work on, and the most forgiving.
- Slate roofsNatural and fibre cement slate — brittle, holed rather than nibbed, and unforgiving of the wrong fixing method.
- Flat roofsBallasted or mechanically fixed frames, membrane life, wind loading and row spacing — flat roof solar is a structural question first.
- Metal and profile roofsStanding seam clamps, trapezoidal through-fixings, thermal movement and dissimilar metal corrosion on sheet-covered roofs.
By orientation and shading
Not sure which applies to you?
Answer a few questions about the property and we will point you at the guidance that fits, and tell you what a survey would need to establish. It is guidance rather than a diagnosis — final suitability, system size and yield all depend on a site survey and a full design.
Find the right solar system for your propertyBook a free design and quotation
Tell us about the property and we will arrange a survey, then issue a written design and fixed quotation before any work is agreed.